"Antique" Fruit for New Orchards?

Do we sell antique
varieties of fruit? Sure - if you're looking for "antiques" we
can fix you up- but just what will you be getting? Will the fruit be
good, bad, or mediocre? Connoisseur quality or crassly commercial? It
all depends on how you choose, and to be blunt, the purported age of
a variety may not be a meaningful criterion. So maybe it's time for nurseries
and fruit enthusiasts to re-consider our jargon where appropriate. This
might better enable us to help our customers find the kind of fruit they
would really like to grow and eat.....

Opalescent Apple: An American antique
gem (c.1880)
that still thrills the taste buds.

Why are so many home orchardists looking for antique fruit
varieties? Obviously many people are dissatisfied with "modern fruit" as
displayed in the supermarket's produce section. Some thirty years ago,
varietal options - both for fresh fruit and nursery stock - reached a
low point. This was the sad culmination of a long decline in diversity
that began before 1900. It reflected changes in demographics leading
to the urbanization of American life as well as the shift from small
family farms to large agribusiness holdings.

As local orchards were abandoned, so were numerous once-cherished varieties.
In their place the consumer was offered those ubiquitous lackluster fruits
trucked in from the huge mega-orchards of Eastern Washington and the
San Joaquin Valley. Meanwhile, thousands of acres of our best orchard
land have been bulldozed and then paved over or planted to wine grapes.

The last few decades have seen some reversal in this trend toward variety
depletion. The marketplace now offers a broader menu of choices. So instead
of just Red Delicious and Golden Delicious apples, consumers can also
now find modern commercial varieties like Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, Braeburn,
and Pink Lady. Nevertheless, folks may sense something missing in these
popular fruits; they seek something with more character, flavor, and
perhaps, history. Can the "antiques" fill this need? Will quality
prevail once the nostalgia has worn off?

Esopus Spitzenberg Apple
- from
Apples of New York by S.A. Beach 1905

The term "antique" typically gets applied to artifacts that
have been around for one hundred years or more. Many of our great fruit
varieties go back much further; a mere century is pretty recent when
we're talking fruit. A visit to the supermarket will probably turn up
many "antique" fruits. Some - like Bing cherries, Bartlett
pears, Blenheim apricots, and Italian Prune plums - are commercially
popular, excellent in quality, and certifiably venerable. Then there
are commercial varieties like Red Delicious and Granny Smith that are
old enough for antique status, but still might not be worthy of growing
in a home orchard.

It's sometimes tricky to fix a date for a variety's inception. Most
old varieties began as chance seedlings that were later selected and
named. Is the Golden Delicious apple an antique or modern? Stark Bros.
Nursery bought it from a West Virginia farmer named Mullins in 1914;
they had trademarked the name before they even found the fruit. The original
seedling, however, is certainly older than that date, and might have
sprouted in the nineteenth century. So when does a variety's birthday
get celebrated?

There are many extraordinary varieties that are relatively modern,
yet manifest qualities comparable to the best heirloom fruit. Despite
their recent origins, these varieties may be obscure, hard-to-find, or
even verging on extinction. Why overlook this fine fruit just because
the date of introduction is later than 1905? For example, Albert Etter's
best selections - like Wickson, Waltana, and Pink Pearl apples - were
not officially introduced until the 1940's; they are "modern" varieties
with old-fashioned flavor.

Nostalgia and charm....

But is it "Antique"?

Older fruit varieties don't always satisfy contemporary taste standards.
Nowadays, home orchardists tend to focus primarily on fruit to be eaten
fresh for dessert, while many of the older varieties were selected and
grown for their culinary usefulness; an excellent cider apple, for example,
may be unpleasant when consumed without processing. It is unfortunate
that many new fruit enthusiasts will wind up disappointed when some older
varieties don't meet expectations.

While variety selection is always an important concern, fruit quality
also depends on growing conditions (eg. soil, climate, culture etc.),
the timing of harvest, and subsequent handling. Poor quality fruit should
not always be blamed on the variety. This applies to both homegrown and
commercial produce. The medocrity of fruit available in the supermarket
derives as much from modern cultural, harvest, and storage practices
as from varietal considerations. It may not be fair to judge an apple
that's been in cold storage 6 - 12 months (" ...Taste the flavor
of yesteryear!") So if you love to eat fine fruit, you might have
to plant your own home orchard.

"Flavor is of prime importance. Many
seedlings have fruit with very little acid and in consequence they
are very sweet and insipid. This type is quite unacceptable. Fruit
may have a strongly aromatic or distinct aniseseed-like flavor and,
while these may prove to be good home garden apples, they are not
acceptable as commercial apples for large scale production because
such flavors are not universally liked. The connoisseur who likes
the subtle flavor of some apples will no doubt grow his own."

A Matter of Taste

Why do gardeners devote so much time and energy to raising their own
fruit? It all comes down to a single reason: FLAVOR. By paying
close attention to the details of proper culture, the amateur grower
can transform soil and sunlight into fruit with the ultimate in dessert
quality. Once we have been fortunate enough to taste the sun-ripened
harvest of a truly excellent variety, ordinary poorly grown fruit loses
much of its charm. The haunting memory of a pleasurable taste experience
can launch us on a lifelong quest for superior fruit.

Taste, of course, has always been a naturally subjective matter. What
one person considers ambrosial might be dismissed as insipid or loathesome
by another. Knowledgeable enthusiasts often have difficulty agreeing
about the merits of a particular fruit. Just because a variety is old,
rare, hardy, or disease-resistant does not mean that it will have good
flavor. Moreover, the best variety in one region may be utterly worthless
somewhere else. All this makes it very difficult to talk intelligently
about flavor. Nonetheless, we all remain committed to the discussion.

It should be remembered that fruit varieties are indeed cultural artifacts,
like music and painting. As such, they reflect the values and sensibilities
of the people who created or selected them. To partake of a Spitzenberg
apple links us to the spirit of eighteenth century aficionados. Recent
varieties are likely to have their birth in scientific breeding programs
at government experiment stations. This means that the selection process
typically favors commercial considerations such as appearance and storage
life over intensity of flavor. In fact, most modern breeders shy away
from robust eating quality for fear of alienating a majority of consumers.

" ......Good flavor is a peculiarly personal
thing. Since the fruit must have a more or less universal appeal,
fruits with distinct, particularly aromatic flavors are only for
the connoisseur. A pleasant but undistinguished flavor is regrettably
the answer - following the maxim that most will like that which has
nothing to dislike.

Occasionally, however, a scientific hybridizing program fortuitously
manages to combine old-fashioned flavor with modern considerations, sometimes
even including disease-resistance. The Sweet Sixteen apple from the Univeristy
of Minnesota is a notable example of this possibility: a new fruit with
antique virtue.

Acquiring fruit varieties can be somewhat addictive and it is not unusual
for a home orchardist to evolve into a bona fide pomological collector.
How many varieties does an individual or family really require? Many of
us find that over the years, our preferences narrow to a smaller group
of favorites, while less esteemed varieties are hardly sampled.

Fruit collectors will often feel a responsibility to maintain rare
varieties that are increasingly difficult to find. The federal and state
agricultural bureaucracies are supposed to establish germplasm repositories
to safeguard our millenia-old fruit heritage and provide genetic material
to scientists and breeders. Unfortunately, the government does not always
manage to keep track of old varieties, and many would be lost without
the diligence of amateur fruit enthusiasts. In essence, the international
network of amateur fruit collectors constitutes the world's largest and
most comprehensive germplasm repository.

"Reduced budgets in recent years have increased the
pressure to maintain only minimal collections. Hence, most old varieites
and even some relatively recent introductions may be difficult, if
not impossible, to find. Early fruit growing was possible without
extensive use of pesticides. Possibly the older cultivars had greater
resistance to insects and diseases, but this resistance was reduced
or lost in the quest for market acceptibility of fruit. Many believe
fruit quality has been sacrificed for attractiveness. Hence, there
is a need to identify and re-evaluate older cultivars and to get
their useful characteristics back into our germplasm reserves. Fortunately,
some amateur pomologists have re-collected some of the older varieties.
They are commended for their efforts."

From the 1977 edition of Fruit
and Tree Nut Germplasm Resources Inventory by Fogle and Winters

Home orchardists may not wish to take on this level of commitment.
Valuable or historically significant germplasm does not always taste
that good. Genetic erosion - and the extinction of domestic plant varieties
- is a serious issue that concerns all of us. While variety extinction
is a sad fact of horticultural life , it still cannot be regarded as
comparable to the loss of natural species. Inevitably, some good fruit
will pass from commerce and memory. In the meantime, a hardcore of dedicated
collectors/enthusiasts will strugggle valiantly to preserve the pomological
legacy. The rest of us would probably do well to simply nurture and enjoy
the kinds of fruit that we love the best.

Of course, determining what is BEST can be the adventure of a
lifetime.

Saved from oblivion.....

"Honeydew" White
Astrachan ( 1985) Planted by E.J. Etter circa 1900.... this was one of
the largest apple trees in the region and one of the few remaining
specimens of its variety. Someone's well-intentioned pruning -
performed with chainsaw - resulted in its demise from sunscald and
borers. We were fortunate to propagate this tree when it was still
healthy, and it now grows in numerous orchards around the country.
White Astrachan is a beautiful large apple, well-adapted to California
conditions; it ripens in early August and makes excellent pies.